I think this is a good spot for Manti Te'o. He was brutal in the national championship, but that shouldn't erase all of his other great tape. He's still the favorite to be the first inside linebacker off the board, and the 16-25 range seems right for him. Besides, this is the type of move the Steelers normally make. They often are able to snag talented prospects who fall to them later in the first round for whatever reason.

The Steelers have shown interest in first-round inside linebackers. They wanted Dont'a Hightower last April, but David DeCastro was just too good to pass up at No. 24 overall. Pittsburgh still has to find an inside linebacker because Larry Foote was awful this year. He finished near the top of dubious rankings like missed tackles and touchdowns allowed by players at his position.

I think this is a good spot for Manti Te'o. He was brutal in the national championship, but that shouldn't erase all of his other great tape. He's still the favorite to be the first inside linebacker off the board, and the 16-25 range seems right for him. Besides, this is the type of move the Steelers normally make. They often are able to snag talented prospects who fall to them later in the first round for whatever reason.

The Steelers have shown interest in first-round inside linebackers. They wanted Dont'a Hightower last April, but David DeCastro was just too good to pass up at No. 24 overall. Pittsburgh still has to find an inside linebacker because Larry Foote was awful this year. He finished near the top of dubious rankings like missed tackles and touchdowns allowed by players at his position.

I like how Matt says that "Larry Foote was awful this year"....while the majority on this forum think he was solid and dependable.

Foote was pretty bad this year and I'll be happy when he isnt in the starting lineup for the Steelers any more. .......and before the Foote fans here start calling me a hater, I will have you know that I love Big Ten football and have followed Foote since he was at Michigan. Its time for him to go.

I like how Matt says that "Larry Foote was awful this year"....while the majority on this forum think he was solid and dependable.

Foote was pretty bad this year and I'll be happy when he isnt in the starting lineup for the Steelers any more. .......and before the Foote fans here start calling me a hater, I will have you know that I love Big Ten football and have followed Foote since he was at Michigan. Its time for him to go.

The love for him has amazed me. The guy wasn't good enough to make it with the Lion's, and somehow became our starter. I seem to remember quotes in the paper where the coaching staff was saying something about him being a loyal Steeler so deserved to be put on the field. Next thing you know we cut Farrior. Bizarro World.

Foote, who spent the past seven years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, said Tuesday that he asked for a trade from the team he helped lead to a pair of Super Bowls since 2005. ESPN

I don't think Foote is overly deserving of loyalty from fans when he chose to leave the Steelers to have a bigger role / more money with the Lions. I can understand him wanting to start but nevertheless he left the team not the other way around.

Foote did miss some tackles but he is a smart veteran. The 17th ranked pass rush was more of a problem than the 2nd ranked run defense- if the Steelers can grab their stud ROLB of the future it would be tough to pass up just as it would be tough to pass up Te'o who would make the defensive adjustments at the line for the future.

More talent will be available at ILB than OLB in the second round. I would think this is a fairly tough decision. Lloyd>Gildon>Porter>Harrison>Worilds? A lot of people are worried about how the defense would fare.

Jordan, Mingo, Okafor and Montgomery are all better than Worilds by a considerable margin. Any of those guys would be a huge upgrade over Worilds and might start instantly on this defense.

I respectfully disagree.

While I agree that especially Mingo and even Jordan would be upgrades over Worilds- Montgomery and Okafor are large DE types who would be better suited to LOLB in the Steelers system.

I am extremely surprised that LSU played their speed rusher on the LE where he would get double teamed by the TE / LT often at the point of attack, and their bull rusher at RE where him being 1 on 1 with the T was nearly as beneficial since he tried basically to collapse the pocket anyways. LSU did it backwards from the majority of other teams.

No one is saying draft 7 LBs, but we do have to address our need for a legitimate pass rusher and an ILB to play with Timmons. That's two Linebackers, man. One in the first round and one in the third / fourth.